Persona X Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: Gamer & Messiah
by Thomas2002
Summary: Despite seeming dead, Minato Arisato was stuck between dimensions, falling into a world with quite the game-centered problem... Thing is, Shadows are mixed in too. How will Minato and this new world's heroes deal with this new threat. (Rated T for typical toku violence)
1. Chapter 1: The Somewhat Digital World

**Hello, and welcome to my new fanfiction! As always with these, I don't own anything. If I would, I wouldn't make Minato d- Oh wait, yeah, there will be spoilers for Persona 3's true ending that _isn't_ The Answer, though some stuff only in that is mentioned. Also, the whole thing is in Minato's perspective, but follows Ex-Aid's plot.**

 **Persona is owned by Atlas**

 **Kamen Rider is owned by Shotaro Ishinomori and Toei**

 **Chapter** **1**

 **The** **Somewhat** **Digital World**

Cold. Lonely. Worried. Those are just a few things I felt like in this void ( **A/N: Imagine the Advent Void from Kamen Rider Dragon Knight** ). But I had to suck it up. If Erebus reaches Nyx, it's game over.

A bunch of lights appeared around me, shaped like rings, as if they were windows to other worlds. But due to the knowledge I got from the Universe Arcana, I knew they weren't just windows. They were _gateways_.

Suddenly, I started falling (or rising, not really sure) towards one of them. I tried to resist, fearing that it would be my world, and everything would be destroyed, but I couldn't do anything. I closed my eyes, hoping with all of my being I wouldn't see the apocalypse.

 **In another world...**

I opened my eyes, and saw that I was falling. Falling from above the clouds. Once I passed them, I saw a city, perfectly stable and not ruined at all. But something still didn't feel right. Not with the world, but with me. I tried talking with my Persona, thinking it was something to do with that.

 _ **-So, what do you want to know from yourself?**_

Orpheus. The first Persona I got. My only _true_ Persona besides Messiah, which is by far my most powerful.

- _Where's Messiah?_

 _ **-I don't know. Once we went into this world, he just... vanished. And so did your other Personas.**_

So _that's_ what's wrong with me. Entering this world seems to have removed all of my Persona except Orpheus. Being a Wild Card, this is troublesome, as my full potential is impossible to reach without other Personas. But a bigger problem was the fact that I was falling to my second death, and this one would be a real one. I took my Evoker and pointed it to my head.

-Persona!- I screamed as I pulled the trigger, blue energy similar to glass shards flying out of the other side of my head. Blue flames fly from me, forming into my Persona, Orpheus. He grabs me, slowing my descent and keeping me alive when I touch the ground. After that, he goes back to where he was originally was. Now, the problem I face now was the fact that I didn't know _anything_ about this world, which was weird. Apparently, The Universe got taken from me as well.

I seemed to be near some sort of gaming convention, labels of a game called "Mighty Action X" everywhere.

 _ **-So, what do you think this Mighty Action X game is all about?-**_ Orpheus asked me out of nowhere.

-Don't know, but it's probably nowhere near as good as Innocent Sin.- I responded as a giant monster that looked like a bunch of meatballs came out of the building. Soon after, a young man dressed like a doctor with an awfully colorful and bulky belt buckle came out too, with a business looking woman going after him.

-Seems interesting.

The young man took out what seemed like the most modern game cartridge ever, and as I looked closer, he seemed to click some sort of button.

 _ **MIGHTY ACTION X!**_

-Scratch that. Seems _very_ interesting.

After that, a light purple field made up of what seemed to be pixels expanded from the young man, making everything it touches, except people and the monster, _very_ blocky. After that, a gust of wind blew the young man's hair back for a moment, a smirk appearing on his face.

-If you're looking for the Genius Gamer M, I'm right here!- He said with clear confidence in his voice.

 _-Genius Gamer M?_

He prepared to insert the cartridge into one of the 2 slots in the buckle.

-Henshin!- He said as he inserted the cartridge.

 _ **GASHATTO!**_

-What is he transforming into?- I ask myself, and by extension, Orpheus.

 _ **-No idea.**_

A wheel of what looked to be character select portraits appeared around the young man, which I now know as M, and he picks one.

 _ **LET'S GAME! METCHA GAME! MUCHA GAME! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?**_

 _ **I'M A KAMEN RIDER!**_

 _-A what now?_

As the following aura of pixels settles down, M seems to have turned into a dwarf sized dude with really weird armor. His main body was black with white padding, with a chestpiece with what seem to 4 colored buttons and an HP bar on it. His helmet was even more ridiculous, sporting pink anime hair and orange and equally anime eyes behind a clear visor.

-What the...?- was the only response I could make.

-Oh! Huh? What?- was his response. Seems to me like this is his first time.

He gets ready to fight by summoning a weapon that, due to announcement, I identified as the Gashacon Breaker, a hammer with 2 colored buttons, but instead of doing that, he runs away. Coward. The monster gives chase, but then midget M jumps onto one of the brown blocks that somehow appeared in the air, then on another, before whacking a third with the hammer, producing a token of sorts, which he grabbed, giving him a speed boost which he uses to get to the monster and bonk it where its head would be. The monster explodes.

-So that's that.

But it wasn't. After that, another monster appeared, this time more humanoid and colorful. Alongside him were a bunch of mooks with chef costumes.

 **-Oh, don't be so salty!-** is what it said.

-Dai Henshin!- M says before pulling the lever flap thing on the front of the buckle.

 _ **GACCHAN! LEVEL UP!**_

A portal of sorts appears in front of M, and he jumps into it before jumping up.

 _ **MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK!**_

 _ **MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!**_

M goes way up, one foot dropkicks down, and then bursts out of the chibi form, landing on the ground. And now, while still ridiculous, he still looked better. Now with proper proportions, his main body became pink with black stripes, with a few metal pads on his hands and shins. The old chibi head became a sort of backpack, with the new head having one extra piece of pink anime hair. He quickly gets up from his crouching position and lifts an arm up, a big "level up" sign appearing next to him for no reason.

-I'll clear this with no continues!- M says before taking the Gashacon Breaker and pushing the green A button, a blade emerging from the top with the seemingly obligatory cheesy vocal.

After that, he makes quick work of the mooks, and turns over to the main bad guy. He beats him down for a bit, but then takes the cartridge out of the buckle, blows on it... somehow, and puts it in a slot on the belt that's near his hip, which had 2 more extra slots, seemingly for extra cartridges. After that, he clicks the button on the slot.

 _ **GACCHAN! KIMEWAZA!**_

M's foot charges up with purple and green energy, with purple looking cartoon lightning bolts emmiting from the foot. Then, he clicks the button again.

 _ **MIGHTY CRITICAL STRIKE!**_

M goes in to do a flying side kick at the monster, then transitions into a upward flip kick, followed up by rapid bicycle kicks. Then, he does 3 more flip kicks, before doing a dropkick into a bounce off of the monster before he/it explodes. A giant "game clear" sign is both announced and actually appears.

-Well, it seems like that's done with.

 _ **-Why didn't you fight?**_

-I try to only fight Shadows.

 **-Wait just a minute!**

Me and M do a joined "what".

 **-I feel... I feel so salty and powerful!**

The monster goes back to his giant meatball form, but dark purple and with a white mask I know way too well.

-How did it become a Shadow?

 _ **-No clue.**_

 **-With this much power, you'll never beat me! I'll season you myself!**

-OK, the first boss isn't supposed to have 3 forms. 2 is OK, but 3?- is what M responded with.

The new Shadow tries to smash M with a punch, but I rush in and block it with my sword.

-I don't know you that well, M, but you should run.

-What? You mean you never heard of me? There are people like that?

-Yes. Also, I think I told you to run.

-If a game lets you run from a fight, it's impossible to do so against a boss!

-This is not a game. If you die, you die. No continues to save you.

-Then I won't die a coward!- he says before slashing at the Shadow. It doesn't work at all.

 **-Who's mighty now, huh?-** the monster says before I slash at him, doing damage.

 **-What? How?**

-This power comes from my world, and I just so happen to be able to fight it.

I pull out my Evoker and aim it at my head.

-What? Are you crazy?- says M.

-Persona!

Blue shards come out of the opposite side as I shoot myself. Orpheus appears, cloaked in blue flames.

-OK, now that's cool.- is M's only response.

-Orpheus, let's clean this up!

 _ **-I would love to.**_

Orpheus shoots a fire blast at the Shadow, as I cut it up more. The Shadow becomes visibly weaker by the second.

-Now, burn it away!- I tell Orpheus, before he launches a fire wave at the Shadow, it dying the usual way, but also having this world's typical pixel effect. M then de-transforms, a surprised look on his face.

-Let's go to CR after I take care of the patient. We gotta talk.- M tells me.

-OK, but...

-What?

-Where is this CR place?

 **So yeah, that's the first** **chapter for you. Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I wanted to get a laught out of you. Anyway, see you next game in Chapter 2: Cross-World Hacked Game!**


	2. Chapter 2: Cross World Hacked Game

**Hello. So, I just now put this up. Yeah. I hope this won't suck...** **Still a Minato P.O.V.**

 **Persona** **is owned by Atlus.**

 **Kamen** **Rider is owned by Toei and Shotaro Ishinomori.**

Chapter 2

Cross World Hacked Game

-So, what you're saying is...

-Yes. Whatever these "Bugsters" are are being affected by my personal problem. And a Persona user is the only kind of person that can fight them.

M, now known to me as Emu Hojo, seemed very curious about this shared problem. So did Poppy, who just so happened to be the real form of the way less annoying Asuna.

-Or, in gamer terms... This game is hacked.

Then, a new guy showed up.

-An intern like you doesn't deserve to perform such an operation.- He then took out a buckle exactly the same as Emu's, now known as the Gamer Driver. -And a kid like him is in straight up danger when faced with Bugsters.-

-I'll let you know that there is a new part of this Bugster business that only _I_ can deal with.

-I'll only believe it when I'll see it.

 **A few hours later...**

A Bugster was attacking. This one was like a castle with legs. It was the usual, though apparently these unions between Bugster and human are meant to be fought at Level 1, which is the chibi form. It was beaten, revealing a mage looking guy.

-Have a taste of my magic!

He shot a bunch of icicles at the Riders. And yes, they're called Kamen Riders. After dodging those, Emu and the other guy, who had a sort of knight motif (though still with the big eyes), leveled up.

 ** _Gacchan! Level Up!_**

 ** _Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty Mighty Action X!_**

 ** _Taddle_** ** _Meguru! Taddle Meguru! Taddle Taddle Quest!_**

And after that, they became more humanoid. And more powerful, as they beat him pretty easily. At the end of the fight, the knight guy took out the Gashat (the cartridge thing they use to transform) and put it in a slot in his weapon, the Gashacon Sword.

 ** _Gacchan! Kimewaza!_**

The sword's blade was surrounded in orange and blue flames.

 ** _Taddle Critical Finish!_**

He did a 180 slash, hitting both the Bugster and Emu. The jerk. Anyways, it seemed to be over, but I just _felt_ that this wasn't over yet.

 _And I was damn right._

 **-My strength... My magic... My whole being...**

-Huh?

-What?

 **-All of it has risen...** The pixels the Bugster turned into reformed back into a Union like state, except dark purple and with Shadow masks all around it.

 **-...to a whole new level!**

-Is this what the kid was talking about?- the knight dude asked Emu.

-Sure is!- he answered before standing back. Our knight in cartoony armor however, did not, resulting in him getting blown back by an ice storm, which caused him to go out of his transformed state.

 **-Try all you might, it won't work! I'm simply too powerful for any of you!**

-You're right. Neither of them stand a chance.- I said while pulling out my Evoker. -Thing is...- I point it at my head. -I do.

-Persona!- I say as I pull the trigger, with blue glass shards flying out of the other side of my head, with Orpheus appearing from a burst of blue flames.

 **-You're bluffing!-** the Bugster said before launching a barrage of thunderbolts at me, which I deflect with my sword.

-You wish. Burn him away!

Orpheus pulls a few strings of his harp, causing a pillar of flames to burst out of the ground. While it didn't destroy the monster, it did do considerable damage. After that, the Persona sets my sword on fire, with me going in and doing a jump slash that cuts the Bugster in half. With that final blow, it starts fading away.

 **-Even with this new power... By a mere child...**

It dissappears into black, red and purple pixels. After that's over with, the knight guy came over to me.

-I'm sorry for doubting your abilities. With this new power the Bugsters possess, we can't do this operation without you.

-About time you realized.- I said, surprised by the fact that he just apologized.

-By the way, my name is Hiiro. Hiiro Kagami.

-I'm Minato Arisato. Nice to see you aren't a complete jerk.

-The intern is still not needed, though.

-Scratch that. You _are_ a complete jerk.

 **So yeah. That's Chapter 2 for you. So, now I'll explain some things.**

 **Specifically** **, the fact that I'm not going into detail with the canon fights. The explanation is simple: you probably watched the entirety of Ex-Aid already and just making all of that happen again would equate to filler. And who in the world likes filler?**

 **Next** **Chapter: The Race To End All Races**


	3. Chapter 3: The Race to End All Races

**Alright, after the delay to end all delays, Chapter 3 is finally out! Again, sorry for taking so long. And once more, this is from Minato's POV, so yeah.**

 **Persona is owned by Atlus**

 **Kamen Rider is owned by Shotaro Ishinomori**

 **Chapter 3: The Race To End All Races**

"So, how many of you Riders are there, exactly?" I ask, as 2 more showed up.

One was a yound man named Kiriya Kujo, who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt under a black leather jacket, and blue jeans, plus regular brown boots, the only proper part of his attire. He was easily the least proper of the team. Also, he spooked Emu due to him not being noticed by the so called genius gamer. Jerk move.

The other was a slightly older guy with black hair with a skunk stripe in it, and a black shirt and blue jeans under a white labcoat, named Taiga Hanaya. He immediately started antagonizing the others.

"I hope no more, because taking all your Gashats would be a hassle if there were any more." Taiga responded. "Speaking of Gashats, where's yours?"

"Yeah! Where's _your_ Gashat?" Kiriya followed up.

"For what I do, I don't exactly need one."

"Not buying it." Kiriya bluntly responded to me.

"You'll see when another Bugster comes along, because I feel like all of them are affected by this."

 **During the night, or more specifically, in Minato's dream...**

I wake up sitting in an all too familiar chair in an all too familiar elevator facing an all too familiar old man with an abnormally long nose and his all too familiar assistant.

"OK, Igor, spill it. Why am I in the Velvet Room again?" I ask the old man.

"Because, as you may know by now, this world is in dire need of help." The man, Igor, responded to me.

His assistant, a blue wearing blonde girl named Elizabeth, walks up to me. "Your new allies, the Kamen Riders, are indeed able to dispatch their own problem, the Bugsters. And don't get us wrong, we don't doubt in their abilities. However, their lack of Persona means they can't fight Shadows. And you already know what has been going on."

"The Bugsters have been turning into Shadows..."

"Exactly." Igor says. "And your words to Mr Kujo and Mr Hanaya hold truth. Every single Bugster they will face is affected by this phenomenon."

"So what you're saying is, they need my help? I already understood that."

"Yes, but that isn't why we called you." Elizabeth says. "We... may have modified your sword a little to allow you to help them full time." She opens her book and goes through a few pages before reaching her hand out, palm facing right in front of me. My sword appeared there, but I noticed something odd. There was a Kimewaza Slot attached to the hilt.

I unenthusiastically face Igor. "Did I not tell you to NOT mess with my stuff without my permission?"

Igor stays calm. "I'm sorry, but this will be neccesary. The enemies you face won't stay weak. They'll be stronger and stronger. Especially repeats. So the ability to use the Riders' powers alongside your own will certainly help you out."

"You don't usually help this directly."

"When we have our reasons, we do. And even then, you were probably tired of sitting in a dimensional void and doing nothing!" Igor says, clearly having a sense of humor that he keeps no matter what's happening. I would know, because the whole world was at stake and he still kept that shit eating grin.

"Minato, you're about to wake up. So, there's only one more thing I can say." Elizabeth looks at me worriedly.

"What is it, Elizabeth?"

"No matter what, don't fight the black Ex-Aid."

"Wait, black Ex-Aid? I need-" And I wake up in the couch I took as my sleeping space. "...answers..."

Poppy goes up to me, worried about something. "Minato, are you pi-po-pa-po-kay?"

"Don't worry, Poppy, I'm fine..." _"I better not tell them about the Velvet Room. I don't want them losing trust."_ Then, I proceed to go back to sleep.

 **During the next Bugster encounter...**

A giant wheel. A giant, orange, spiky wheel. _Who the hell is designing these guys?_

Anyway, Ex-Aid, Brave, and the new guys, Snipe and Lazer, the former of which's head looked like that of an edgy anime soldier, and the former's had a magenta spiky mohawk and handlebars on the sides, were trying to fight the thing off, and did pretty well. However, once he went into his "higher levels allowed" form, the situation went to crap, because...

 _ **Gachaan! Level Up!**_

 _ **Bang Ba-Bang! Ba-Bang Bang! Bang Bang Shooting, GO!**_

 _ **Bakusou, Dokusou, Gekisou, Bousou! Bakusou Bike!**_

Yeah... While Snipe's Level 2 looked pretty awesome, sporting that amazing neon green poncho and everything, Lazer's... was literally just a sentient bike. _Who in the hell designs this crap!?_

Anyway, while Snipe took some pot-shots at the Bugster, Lazer tried to convince Ex-Aid to ride him- That came out wrong. Anyway, yeah, that was going on, and since Ex-Aid refused, the Bugster managed to escape, after which we went back to CR. Then, Lazer told me and Emu a story. And yeah, the story was heartwrenching due to his friend's death, but the main part of using a Persona is to accept death, so it didn't phase me too much. Emu, on the other hand, came back to his senses, and they went back out to stop the Bugster.

 **At the scene of the battle...**

The 2 Riders Leveled Up and went in to fight the Bugster... during a bike race. Yeah, apparently the game that the Bugster's based off of, Bakusou Bike, is a bike racing game where you must win _at all costs_. In other words, fighting was perfectly allowed, meaning the Bugster put up quite the battle as me, Snipe and Brave watched.

"I'll admit, the kid's good." Taiga said.

"Yes. Atleast as a Rider." Hiro replied.

 _"Wait for it..."_ I thought to myself, waiting for what is, if Igor is to be believed (which he is), inevitable.

 _ **Kimewaza! Bakusou Critical Strike!**_

The Bugster was finished off in the weirdest, yet coolest ways ever. Lazer got ahead and _fired firey lasers out of his exhaust pipes._ _Like, WHAT!?_

"Well then, that should be it." Lazer said.

"I doubt it..." Ex-Aid said back to him. And considering the following, the doubt is entirely warranted.

 **"What is this...? I know..."**

"Wait, what!? How is he not dead!?" Lazer panicked.

 **"I've switched into a new gear... One to not just beat you in a race..."**

Black and red Bugster particles appear where the Bugster fell, and form into what is basically a black version of his Union state, but with Shadow masks on the sides of the wheel's core.

 **"BUT ALSO TO A BLOODY PULP!"** The Shadow Bugster immediately broke into maniacal laughter, as he nearly runs over Ex-Aid before starting to spin in place, grinding down on the pink, anime looking Rider.

"Emu!" I immediately jump in, summoning Orpheus and launching some fireballs, however, the Bugster was spinning too fast for them to do anything serious. Because damn you, physics!

Anyway, I then slash at the Bugster, catching his attention.

 **"Huh? What, you wanna die too? BE MY GUEST!"**

"Wait..." I remember Igor and Elizabeth's alteration of my sword, and get to Lazer. "I challenge you to another race... fight... thing... Whatever. You get the point."

 **"Oh, is that it? Alright then, I'll race you! But if I win, all your friends here die!"**

"Sure. I'm used to death anyway." I get onto Lazer.

"Wait, Minato, are you sure that this is a good idea?" Lazer asks me.

"It's the only one I have right now."

I ride off, with the Bugster following me, trying to knock me off. However, I keep holding on and trying to slash at him and roast him (the literal type of roasting), and eventually - though it was after we already ended up in the main city -, he starts losing his balance, and his rotation slows down quite a bit.

 **"Wait, HOW!? I got this epic power up and everything, so how the hell am I losing!?"**

"Let's do this, Kiriya."

"Yeah!"

I pull out his Gashat...

 _ **Gachoon!**_

...insert it into my sword...

 _ **Gashatto! Kimewaza!**_

And go straight towards the soon to be dead Shadow Bugster.

 _ **Bakusou Critical Finish!**_

As that obnoxious as always announcement plays, my sword is cloaked in both Orpheus' flames and a somewhat cartoonish aura with animated black lightning bolts coming off. As we pass through the Bugster at full speed, I slash at it from the side, cutting it clean in half.

 **"NO! I WAS SUPPOSED TO WIN THIS! I DEMAND A REMATCH! _I DEMAND A-_ "**

And it proceeds to explode, black and red Bugster particles coming off of where he was before.

"The dead have no right to demand anything."

"Uh... Minato?"

"What, Kiriya?"

"Was that what you meant by you being the only one capable of fighting them?"

"Yes... Yes it was..."

Kiriya detransforms. "I'm sorry for doubting you. I'm pretty sure Hanaya is too."

"Yeah..."

From the distance, the others were watching us, also detransformed. However, Taiga had some thoughts about this.

 _"You can only fight these new Bugsters with a Persona. Seems like my goal has broadened. I must become not only the only Kamen Rider..."_

He looks towards his Gashat, before looking back at me.

 _"But also the only Persona user..."_

 **Yay for cliffhangers! Actually, probably not. You probably hate those, and if you do, I am sorry. I'm also sorry for not posting for a long ass time, because... OK, I'll just say it.**

 **I'm actually suffering from depression. Because of it, I can rarely find motivation to do anything. I mean, sure, when I do get some, it's pretty good, but... Yeah, that's the main reason for my inactivity. Anyway, now that all 4 main Riders have been introduced, we got the obligatory Genm tease out of the way, and Taiga now wants to take Minato's Evoker AS WELL as the Gashats, we can get into the spicy stuff. Next up:**

 **A new fanfic I'm thinking of. It's another Ex-Aid related crossover, but instead of Persona, it's with Hyperdimension Neptunia! Also, the roles will be switched, with the 4 main Riders coming to Gamindustri.**

 **And the thing you really want...**

 **Chapter 4: Tag of a Sniper and Dragon**


	4. Chapter 4: Tag of a Dragon and Sniper

**Hello guys! Yes! For once, I'm not being lazy! Still winging it tho.**

 **Anyway, time for Chapter 4!** **POV is still Minato's, so don't ask. Also, this one has quite a few spoilers for Persona 3.**

 **As always, nothing is owned by me. Persona is from Atlus, and Kamen Rider is from Shotaro Ishinomori and Toei.**

 **Chapter 4: Tag of a Dragon and Sniper**

I kept wondering about... well, a lot of things. First of all, there's the power I felt when doing that attack with Kiriya's Gashat. It felt... wonderful. Sure, it also felt EXTREMELY different from using my Persona, but it was just as great of a feeling. But the other things were more worrying.

First of those worries is Taiga. He seems to want to get all the Gashats for himself. Now, that wouldn't be too bad if he wasn't a total lone wolf, but since he is, that'll make taking care of these new Shadow Bugsters a complete and utter pain for both of us.

Then there's Lazer. Don't know why, but he didn't feel too trustworthy. Probably how he kept the whole thing about his dead friend a secret up until us knowing it would be convenient for him. However, he's overall a nice guy, so I'm not too worried about him betraying us.

And finally, there were Elizabeth's words before I left the Velvet Room. Black Ex-Aid? What? Why would I have to be worried about some edgy rip-off of the person I know all the strengths and weaknesses of? Unless he's somehow _stronger_ than the Ex-Aid I know. _That_ would be a problem. I doubted it though, so I continued on taking it with a grain of salt.

Suddenly, the Poppy alert started ringing, calling everyone to my bedroom- I mean, the CR's main HQ to talk to someone who sounded like a sort of higher-up for the Riders. When the TV in the corner turned on, I saw... a rather normal looking business man.

"Hello, everyone. Good to see you doing well." he said.

"Good to see you too, Kuroto." Taiga responded. Seems like the big man's name is Kuroto then.

"And I see you got a new recruit to the cause."

"Yes, they did." I finally spoke up, having become just talkative enough after being around these guys enough. "Name's Minato Arisato. Nice to meet you, mister... Dan?" I looked at his full name on that business person name tag on his table.

"Just call me Kuroto. Anyway, what is someone without a Gashat of their own doing amongst a group of Riders?"

"...You didn't notice the Shadow Bugsters, didn't you?"

"Shadow Bugsters? That's what you call them?" Kuroto responded to my question with another question... jackass. "Oh well, it works. So, what do you have to do with them?"

"I'm the only one in this group capable of taking them down. Don't know why, but them becoming Shadows makes them nearly immune to the Riders' attacks."

"I see... Anyway, here's the bad news." He turned on a screen next to him - wow, screen-ception -, showing a set of 10 Gashats, 4 of them the ones used by the Riders. "The Level 3 Gashats have been stolen by the Bugsters." 5 of them black out.

"That... doesn't sound good." Emu says.

"Of course it doesn't. If we aren't prepared, the Bugsters will easily out-level us. As such, we _need_ to get them back."

I speak up again. "Let us take care of that."

"That's what I thought I'd hear. Anyway, I'm getting late for a meeting, so I have to go. Goodbye." The screen shuts down. Did... Did the big boss of our group just hang up on us?

I take my sword and point it at the map near me. "Let's go find ourselves some Gashats."

 **Near a junkyard (yes, a junkyard)...**

Why is this taking so long!? We looked for _ages,_ and haven't found a single Gashat. However, we did find someone else. A Bugster, to be exact. One that looks like a normal human. Taiga... didn't look too happy to see him. The Bugster transformed by... Well, just watch/read/whatever.

He takes what appears to be a black and purple gamepad, but with 2 blaster barrels on one side and a mini chainsaw on the other. He pushed a button, starting a standby sound. He then put it on his arm.

"Baiou..." The Bugster said before pushing the button again.

 _ **Let's Game! Bad Game! Dead Game! What's Your Name!? The Bugster!**_

His new appearance looked... odd. He was mostly green, with golden armor on the arm the device was originally on. His head resembled that of a bird, with feathers growing out of the back and the mouth looking like a beak. He didn't have a shirt, but had a tattered tailcoat of sorts acting as a replacement for pants. However, his weapon was what interested me most, as it was a sojinto that appeared to be made of _huge ass fangs_. What were they from? Some kind of dragon?

"Well. This is new." I said, before everyone transformed... except Kiriya. However, they seem to have responded in response to Snipe, as he is the only one actually attacking. He goes ham on the Bugster, firing bullet after bullet and yelling in rage. However, while it does stagger him, it didn't do that much significant damage.

 **"You idiots! I'm already Level 3. You can't hope to defeat me at your level."**

"Taiga, he's right." Emu of all people started playing the straight man. "We need to get the Gashats first."

"Dammit! You're right! Consider yourself lucky, _Graphite!_ Next time, you're dead!" He de-transforms, and so does everyone else except the Bugster, who just teleports away.

I... wasn't too happy at Taiga. "What the hell, Taiga!? We were lucky that he wasn't interested in a lower level! He could've easily killed us!" I told him the next time we were alone.

"It's none of your business, kid. Get lost!"

Suddenly, I point my Evoker at my head. "I usually only use this on Shadows, but that doesn't mean I don't have experience against people. So, if you don't want to get toasted, you. Will. Tell me."

Taiga looks down at the ground before sitting down on the bench nearby. "That Bugster... Graphite... He took _everything_ from me. I lost everything... my career, my friends... all because of _him_." He looks at me. "Why do you think I don't have a license? Why do you think Brave is always so stoic that it seems like he doesn't feel _anything_? It's because... That Bugster... was the one created from his girlfriend. I wanted to save her. I really did. But I couldn't do _anything!_ Now, every time I look at Graphite or Brave, all I can see is all my mistakes... Everything and everyone I lost... _There's no way a simple kid like you would understand what I'm going through, Minato!_ "

"I... I do understand."

"Heh... Stop lying... whether it's to me or yourself, just... just stop." He looked away again.

"...why do you think I'm here?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you think I'm here, Taiga? Here, instead of in _my_ world, with _my_ friends?" Time for my own story. "It's because... I can't go back..."

"You... can't?"

"No I can't..." Unusually for me, I shed a tear. "Our enemy... the last one we fought... was the physical avatar of death itself. After some complicated stuff I... won't even try to explain... I found out it was being attracted by an entity that humanity itself created... The physical manifestation of humanity's subconscious wish for it all to just end... To stop them from making contact... and destroying my world..." I seriously start sobbing like crazy here. "I had to become a seal... A seal that kept Nyx, the avatar of death, and Erebus, the one who called for her, separate... My body became the seal, and my soul was just floating between worlds... until I fell into yours with a new body... If it were my own world instead of yours, everyone would be dead... My friends, what's left of my family... Everyone would die..." I look towards Taiga with tears going down like crazy. "I can't go back, or else I'll lose everything like you did! I want to... I really do... But I can't! What's worse... Simply losing everything... Or giving it all up so that it lives on? _You're the one that doesn't understand anything! I understand you perfectly, but you... You don't get ANYTHING!"_ I completely break down after that, and unknown to me at that moment, Taiga actually shed a tear.

 _"Who new the kid went through so much... Now I definitely need his Evoker. He doesn't deserve to suffer like that."_

"Alright." He told me. "Now that I told you my story, do you understand what happened there?"

"Y- Yes..." I respond, still sobbing.

"Good. I hope you don't break down like that again. It's not as cute as some people make it out to be."

"I know..."

 **After that whole thing happened, and resuming our search...**

He was right there... The black Ex-Aid that I was told about. And he utterly destroyed everyone else. It was clear why Elizabeth told me not to fight him. Sure, the stats were seemingly identical, but while our Ex-Aid was flashy and overall a bit of a show-off, this one was brutal and serious. While ours jumped around and hit people a whole bunch, this one went seemingly straight for the kill, hitting them really hard, really quickly. And after that, he just left... Who even IS he?

 **OK, so another chapter done with. Sorry if it was shorter, or if some things were out of order. I really wanted to bring Genm into this at the end, and decided to focus this on Taiga and Minato speaking their hearts out. Their stories are pretty similar. Both lost everything they had, but while Taiga couldn't do anything with what he chose, Minato _had_ no other choice. I really hope this was good, because in my version of how P3 went down, Minato ended up with maxed Social Links with _everyone,_ so just giving it all up would definitely do a number on him.**

 **Anyway, next chapter, Red Robot of Destruction, (yes, that's a reference to the red ring of death) will be next, so stay tuned!**


	5. Chapter 5: Red Robot Of Destruction

**It... Is... ABOUT** **TIME!**

 **OK, so, we all know the drill now. Minato POV, possible P3 spoilers, yadda yadda yadda, let's freaking do this thing!**

 **Persona is owned by Atlus**

 **Kamen Rider is owned by Toei and Shotaro Ishinomori**

 **Chapter 5**

 **Red Robot Of Destruction**

So... Where do I begin... After my little sob story to Taiga, we have come to understand each other better. I mean, he still wanted to take all the Gashats, but that's besides the point. What ISN'T besides the point though is our little "black Ex-Aid" encounter. Stats... identical. Fighting style... brutal and to the point, AKA the complete opposite of Emu's. This could be trouble. However, we resumed our Level 3 Gashat search and came across a pair of odd looking Bugsters.

They looked almost entirely mechanical, with a blank gray face, and equally bland basic body structure. However, one wore red robotic armor with some really big gauntlets. Not too big, but they did seem like they packed a punch- goddammit... The most interesting part was the red Gashat sticking out of its head. They recognized the game as Gekitotsu Robots, some kinda sci-fi robot-themed fighting game. The other looked more like a samurai and wielded a sword. Its game was Giri Giri Chambara, which Emu described as "a sword fighting game where each hit could be your last". Oh, and then good ol' black Ex-Aid showed up in his own Level 3 form, based off of Shakariki Sports, which seemed to me like Tony Hawk Pro Skater, but with bicycles.

Everyone tried to fight them... except me. I stood back, as even with that little upgrade to my sword, I'm still better off fighting Shadows. However, seeing how the Bugsters AND opposing Rider were Level 3, they made quick work of them. We then retreated to the base.

 **Back at the base...**

"So that's the power of Level 3... No wonder Kuroto wanted us to get those Gashats back." I thought out loud.

"Yeah. And what's worse..." Taiga said. "... the Bugsters can also level up on their own. Now that you see how much of an issue it is when the enemy is just ONE level ahead, you probably understand how much of a problem that is."

"Not only that, but there's also the black Ex-Aid. Not nearly the show-off that our Ex-Aid is, but that's definitely the scariest part."

Suddenly, Hiiro intervened. "No, the worst part is me having to work with Hanaya."

"Shut it, Brave. How many times do I have to tell you, I tried my best."

Suddenly again, he clings to Taiga's collar. "Well apparently, your best wasn't enough! If I was out there instead of you, _Saki could've lived!_ "

Taiga just kinda throws him away from himself. "No she couldn't have. The Gashats of the time were too unstable, so you would have just as bad of a time as I did."

"I didn't even say it was the worst part! I said it was the scariest!" I finally came back into talking range. "And if you can't keep your cool, how are you worthy of being a Rider?"

"As if he's any better..." Hiiro responded.

"I've been fighting for much longer than you have. As such, while you don't understand what's at stake, _I do_."

"Can you please calm down? I know how we can get the Gashats!" I said, trying to change the subject.

Emu then responded. "Wait, you do?"

"Yes. They are game based, right? In-game bad guys come to life? So, shouldn't "beating the Bugster" and "beating their game" be the same?"

"Are you telling us to actually play the games?" Taiga asked.

"Not really. But you do know what "beat 'em at their own game" means, right?"

"I get it!" Emu said. "We have to treat the fight like the game the Bugster is from!"

"Yeah, but they're still much physically stronger than us." Taiga intervened.

"I know that. And I've got a solution. Emu, in your fight against Salty, you used this weird power up token thing."

"You mean an Energy Item?" Emu responded.

"Yes, that. So, while we can't beat them in a straight match up, we can still use those to our advantage."

"Good idea." Hiiro said.

Then, our Bugster detector notices 3 Bugsters. One of them being the red robot guy from earlier and the other 2 being Doremifa Beat (a rhythm game) and Jet Combat (a sort of fighter plane simulator type deal). We then decided to split up, with me, Emu and Kiriya going after the robot guy, with Hiiro and Taiga each going after the other 2.

 **At a junkyard...**

There it was. Our target. However, black Ex-Aid was also there, again, in that Level 3 form of his. Emu took care of the Bugster while me and Lazer held off the other Ex-Aid.

I couldn't see the entire fight (A/N: don't worry, it's just like in the show, just without Genm), as while we were fighting, I got on Lazer and tried keeping my distance with Orpheus' powers, but he switched off Level 3 and put the Gashat into his Slot Holder, turning his extra armor into a bicycle that he used to make us go into a bike chase sequence. During it, we went into a blade lock with my sword and his mini chainsaw - oh yeah, did I forget to mention he used that thing Graphite used to transform as a weapon? -, and during it...

 **"I will admit, you are very skilled. However..."** the black Ex-Aid, who was very clearly using a voice changer, pushed me, and by extension Lazer, away before switching weapon modes and blasting us. **"...you are still no Kamen Rider."**

"And who said I needed to be one?" I deflected his blasts before making Orpheus shoot a fireball at him. "I'm just here to finish the job once the Shadow Bugsters come into play. And simply being a Rider is useless against them!"

 **"But still... Without being a Rider, this simple so-called Persona of yours does not help much against non-Bugsters."** He spun around on his bike, kicking the fire blast away.

"Well, I know that!" I kept on launching fire attacks at him, who either deflected, avoided or destroyed each of them. "That's why I always stayed away from you until now!"

 **"And why only until now? Do you have a death wish?"** The back and forth launching and nullification of projectiles continued throughout the rest of our convo.

"Not really. I already kinda died once, but I learned to accept that we will all die someday."

 **"That acceptance will not get you anywhere here. Without Rider powers to call your own, you will eventually become worthless here. The Shadow Bugsters will be too strong for you to handle, even when using the other Riders' Gashats. With that, the world will eventually crumble because of them going out of control, and infecting others, until only Shadows remain, in a shell of the former world..."**

"I trust in the Riders. They'll be able to stop them..."

 **"Did you already forget your purpose in your team? They CAN'T beat them without you. And you'll be forced to watch them die, simply because you were too weak."**

"Shut up..." Orpheus glitches out a little here.

 **"All I'm saying is the truth. You know that the Bugsters constantly grow and evolve. These "Shadow Bugsters" are the same. They'll outgrow you, and they will destroy everyone."**

"I said, shut up..." Orpheus starts spazzing out.

 **"You can be delusional all you want, but we both know that I'm not lying."**

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK ANOTHER WORD!!!" I scream out as Orpheus - or, what I thought to be Orpheus - shot out one final barrage of fireballs. However, they were black and red, and much, _much_ stronger than normal. He seemed caught off guard by it, unable to protect himself completely, so he went behind his bike, which dissolved upon contact and he still got hit, lowering his Rider Gauge - the health bar on the Riders' chests - to half.

However, he then shot Lazer, who got derailed and I ended up getting thrown off of him. All I could see then is the black Ex-Aid coming up to me and dropping a black Gashat, and the last thing I heard before passing out was... **"Consider this a temporary gift..."**

 **A few minutes later...**

"Hey, Minato, wake the hell up!"

I wake up, and see Kiriya. "What... happened..." I then see the Gashat, and take it.

"You passed out when that Ex-Aid ripoff hit me off balance. Though I have to say, you seem to have done a number on him with that last attack."

"Yeah..."

"But why am I wasting time talking? That jerkass went back to Emu! We must go help him!" He said, before transforming into Lazer and me getting on, riding back to the junkyard.

 **Back at the junkyard...**

When we got there, Emu was still having trouble with the Bugster and Rider fighting him. Then again, black Ex-Aid was back in Level 3, so I don't blame him. Anyway, when we got back there, we managed to beat the Bugster with some clever usage of Energy Items and... it was time.

 ** _Gekitotsu Robots!_**

Ex-Aid closed the Driver and put in his new Gashat, and spun his arm 3 times...

"Dai-Dai-Dai Henshin!" ... before opening his Driver again, with the extra robot guy that was summoned through the screen that appeared upon activation turning into armor.

 ** _Buttobase, Totsugeki! Gekitotsu Punch! Ge-ki-to-tsu Robots!_**

Ex-Aid now certainly _looked_ stronger. He now had bulkier red armor on his chest, a big gauntlet on his left arm, and a cool golden V-fin on his head that would totally not get copyrighted if the makers of Gundam were here. Thankfully, they were not.

What then ensued was utter wreckage towards Ex-Aid's ripoff. Understandable, since Ex-Aid's Level 3 is an actual fighting game, while black Ex-Aid's is discount Tony Hawk's, but still impressive. However, he ended up getting interrupted by the Bugster, now a Shadow, coming back to play. However, it did not turn back into its Union form. Rather, it's face turned white, with glowing red cracked holes where its eyes would be, and the rest of its body entirely black and purple, plus missing the Gashat because, well, it was with Emu. I fought the Shadow Bugster, and Emu continued beating on his copy, until...

 ** _Kimewaza! Gekitotsu Critical Strike!_**

... he shot his gauntlet towards the black Ex-Aid like a rocket, pushing him away, before dashing back to it and punching back _into_ the gauntlet, causing an explosion where it hit the enemy.

I, however, had a bit more trouble. Sure, it may have been a Shadow, but it was also a Level 3 Bugster, and when compared to the Level 2s we've been fighting so far, that's a big freaking upgrade. After Orpheus blasted it with fire, I realized something. This Bugster was based off of a robot. Overheating it is very much an option. So, I continued my assault, with my slashes now cloaked in Orpheus' flames, as well as Orpheus himself literally roasting him. Eventually, it jammed up, and that was when I pulled out my new Gashat and put it in my sword.

 ** _Gashatto! Kimewaza! 7@dd13_Critical_Finish!_**

My sword was covered in silver flames (A/N: Think the Silver Dragon Volcanic Knuckle, but with a sword) as I stabbed the Bugster with it, pulled it out as I jumped back, then charged up for a bit before delivering one final slash towards and through it. (A/N: Basically Chrom's Final Smash) It, of course, was destroyed, dissolving into black and red Bugster particles.

We then went back to CR, but I didn't tell Emu about my new Gashat. Didn't need to be suspected for betrayal, after all...

 **So, how'd you like that? I wanted something more action packed, but I suck with writing fight scenes and, as such, leave a lot to the reader's imagination. However, I have 2 - not 1, but 2 - challenges for you. No rewards for em, it's just for fun**

 **1) You probably noticed that when Minato used his new Gashat, the Critical Finish text didn't quite come out right. Especially with the partial naming of the Gashat itself. And it won't work until he does something else. However, if you can decode it and guess what it means for our blue-haired messiah, you win challenge number 1.**

 **2) This one is probably way harder, but come on, it's awesome nontheless. So, what is challenge number 2? It's Create-An-Opening! Yes, I want you to make an opening sequence for this crossover. It could be all original artwork, it could be an AMV/MAD made up of different parts of the P3 anime and Ex-Aid (both opening AND series), or it could be a combination of both. For music, I was thinking either Excite or the opening music for the PSP for Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, but you can use whatever you think fits. Also, you can kinda mix this with challenge 1 in a way, by implementing it or its meaning into the OP, but please, _try and make it subtle._** **Once you make it, put it on your YouTube channel.**

 **Anyway, next chapter: Black Dragon Rebirth**


End file.
